7 ways to start a VR café

For nearly three decades, internet cafés have filled an important niche across the globe. Also known as cybercafés, these establishments have provided online access to travelers, and to persons who do not have internet services at home. Thanks to the astronomical growth of virtual reality technology, a new business model is emerging that promises to transform the industry. Welcome to internet café 2.0 — the VR café.

Traditional internet cafés have served both their owners and customers well, and expansion in developing nations remains strong. However, virtual reality offers a shot in the arm for cafés even in nonindustrialized countries. By shifting the focus from merely providing internet access to offering pay-as-you-go VR experiences, you can turn the commonplace internet café into an exciting revenue machine.

We have put together a list of seven ways you can grow your internet cafés business. Some involve renting out your facility to organizations that need to provide VR content to persons in your area. Other ideas allowyou to sell VR experiences directly to your customers. We also explain the primary advantages and disadvantages of each.

Let’s get started.

1. VR games

Advantage: Nearly guaranteed revenue

Obviously, VR gaming is at the top of our list. With a market revenue projection of $45 billion by 2025, this is one VR service you cannot afford to ignore. Even if you offer other VR-related experiences to your customers, establishing your facility asa VR game room will ensure a steady stream of gamers throughout the day, along witha corresponding stream of gaming revenue.

Even now, many gamers can’t afford a decent VR headset, let alone the powerhouse of a PC needed to drive it. Providing a neighborhood, or even regional, VR arcade will attract those with an appetite for VR but who don’t have a home system — which is a pretty large crowd.

Café owners have the opportunity to bridge popular anime and video game companies with customers in new and profitable ways. Animate Ltd., Animate Cafe Shops of Japan has even become a bucket-list destination for tourists. Huge interest led Animate to use a lottery-based reservation system. which just proves that success comes witha price.

Disadvantage: Cost

Aswith all VR services that you might want to offer your customers, VR gaming requires more physical space than traditional Internet cafés. VR is not only a visually immersive experience, it is a physical experience as well. You must provide adequate room for each customer to grope, wave, grab, and swing as they enjoy their game play to the fullest. Providing enough room for each player to move about safely must be a prime consideration.

In addition to the additional space, youwill need to purchase suitable headsets, headphones, controllers, wands, and other gear needed for the games. While there is no cheap way to equip your facility, many operators start small and soon find that they can afford to add new stations as business grows.

Finally — and don’t let this discourage you — all of that game revenue isn’t yours to keep. And we are not talking about income tax. The creators of VR games have something to say about using their products for commercial purposes. Some offer licensing agreements, while others do not. Do your research, but expect more liberal licensing requirements asthe VR game room market continues to grow. A better solution is to have VR games custom developed for you by a VR development company, in which case you keep all of the profits for yourself.

2. VR escape rooms

Advantage: Interactivity

Don’t confuse VR escape roomswiththe regular VR gaming we just discussed. Rather than providing each customer witha gaming computer, VR gear, and room to play, a VR escape room immerses the player in a confined space from which they must “escape.” By solving riddles, problems of logic, or finding hidden clues, players can free themselves from the confines of the escape room, thus winning the game.

VR escape rooms provide not only an immersive experience, but a highly interactive as well. Even non-gamers return again and again to try and improve their speed, or to find more clues. The best part? VR game rooms are group activities, so you are more likely to book four or five people at a time.

Disadvantage: Customization

In addition to the cost of building a custom escape room, youwill need special game software to operate an escape room. Although more and more games are available, youalso have the option to have one custom designed. There are a handful of outsource development companies that offer top-notch custom VR development, including software for VR game rooms.

3. VR-based training

Advantage: Corporate clients

The value of VR in training is being realized by companies large and small. As an a VR café operator, you can tap into this developing market by renting out your facility for VR training. While companies increasingly realize the need to incorporate VR into their employee training programs, not many organizations have the hardware needed to conduct such training in-house.

As third-party developers create VR training software for various industries, the need for VR training facilities will only grow. Since the client will bring their own training software, all you need to provide is the hardware anda minimal level of support.

Adding “VR training facility” to your café’s list of services can attract corporate clients, and all the VR trainees you can handle.

Disadvantage: Hardware requirements

The primary disadvantage of offering your café to companies for VR training is that you must have enough computers and headsets to accommodate a large group. The cost of setup, however, could be quickly recovered as word spreads that you offer this much-needed and unique service.

4. VR-based education

Advantages: Academia

Renting your café out for VR-based education is done exactly the same way as for training, except that you are targeting schools who need to educate students, rather than targeting corporations that need to train employees.

Despite the fact that many schools in theU.S. and Europe have at least some VR gear for use in educating students, plenty still do not. Now, don’t expect a classroom of students to invade your facility every day, but many schools will welcome the opportunity to use your facility a few times a year. Having a local venue where schools can introducing children to VR technology, or to provide educational VR content, can be a great asset to nearby schools. Witha little creative marketing, you can probably corner the market asa provider of VR services to your school district.

Disadvantages: Hardware requirements

Aswith some of the other ideas, here, you need a lot of VR hardware to host even a small school class. Even so, this untapped market can prove profitable returns, if you can make the experience fun and educational for the students.

5. VR workshops

Advantage: Corporate clients

If you have a passion for all things VR, you might consider offering VR workshops to local businesses who want to explore VR technology. By conducting informative hands-on instruction in virtual reality technology, you provide a valuable service, and add to your revenue stream. Your target clients are both small and medium-size organizations that are considering incorporating VR technology into their product line or operations.

Disadvantage: Expertise

Your knowledge of VR technology must go beyond that of the average VR consumer, if you are going to conduct workshops. While an advanced degree in programming is not necessary, you must able to demonstrate how to use VR hardware and software. Youwillalso be expected to provide innovative ideas on how your clients can integrate VR technology into their business models.

6. VR Events

Advantage: Corporate support

If your café is located near a large metropolitan area, chances are good that there are companies in the area needing a venue for VR events. These companies will have their own VR content, and their own audience, they just need a place to bring the two together. Asthe marketing potential of virtual reality becomes more apparent, more and more companies will seek ways to wow their customers through VR presentations.

In addition to corporate events, another type of event you can host is the private party. Birthdays, fundraisers, and company promotions all provide opportunities for you to attract a crowd. All you need to do is to advertise your VR café asa hotspot for these events. As long asyou obtain licensing rights to the content, you can host multiplayer game tournaments, 3D concerts, or tours of the galaxy.

Disadvantage: Content

While corporate clients will bring their own VR content for their event, you will likely need to provide the software for private events. Even though the list of available VR content is growing, we are still a few startups away from having a smorgasbord of VR material available for public consumption.

7. Amenities

Advantage: Low cost

Sometimes, the best solutions are the simplest. Regardless of the type of content you provide, or the customers you attract, you can generate a surprisingly strong revenue stream by providing a few amenities for you guests.

Food and beverages, document printing, and document scanning are all things your customers need, and are willing to pay for.

Aswith many types of businesses, you can increase sales by offering package deals for families, companies, or 12-month individual plans.

Youwill need extra staff to provide customers with snacks and drinks, and to assist them with printing or scanning. Youalso need to plan well in order to maintain an adequate stock of refreshments and printing supplies.

Conclusion

The VR café is probably going to disrupt nobody, but that does not mean it can’t be a highly lucrative business. As virtual reality becomes more mainstream, consumers will seek ways to explore what VR is all about. If you can provide them with a cost-effective way to immerse themselves into VR games, videos, and educational content, you can get your share of the $37.5 billion VR market.